Texas Pork Ribs

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Recipe by: Laura Walton

"This is a multiple prize-winning master recipe. It has several steps that can be used on pork spareribs, country-style ribs, or pretty much any other type of pork rib; simply adjust oven time up for meatier cuts. Use some soaked wood chips on the barbecue. The smokier the grill, the better the ribs will taste!"

Directions

Clean the ribs, and trim away any excess fat. In a medium bowl, stir together the sugar, 1/4 cup salt, ground black pepper, paprika, 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, and garlic powder. Coat ribs liberally with spice mix. Place the ribs in two 10x15 inch roasting pans, piling two racks of ribs per pan. Cover, and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.

Preheat oven to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C). Bake uncovered for 3 to 4 hours, or until the ribs are tender and nearly fall apart.

Remove 5 tablespoons of drippings from the bottom of the roasting pans, and place in a skillet over medium heat. Cook onion in pan drippings until lightly browned and tender. Stir in ketchup, and heat for 3 to 4 more minutes, stirring constantly. Next, mix in water and brown sugar, and season to taste with cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 1 hour, adding water as necessary to achieve desired thickness.

Preheat grill for medium-low heat.

When ready to grill, add soaked wood chips to the coals or to the smoker box of a gas grill. Lightly oil grill grate. Place ribs on the grill two racks at a time so they are not crowded. Cook for 20 minutes, turning occasionally. Baste ribs with sauce during the last 10 minutes of grilling, so the sauce does not burn.

All done! Now take a photo, rate it, and share your accomplishments!

Tips & Tricks

Barbecue Ribs

See how to make sweet, spicy spareribs with a wee kick of rum.

Grilled Kiwi & Chili-Rubbed Short Ribs

See how to make a quick-and-easy rub for grilled short ribs.

Footnotes

The nutrition data for this recipe includes the full amount of the rub ingredients. The actual amount of the rub consumed will vary.

Reviews 259

321 Ratings

Niki Mouton

6/3/2004

This recipe was to die for. Everyone that ate it was raving about it. For all you crock pot fanatics...I made this in the crock pot. I prepared the dry rub as instructed and left in the fridge over night. The next morning, I loaded all of the ribs into a big crock pot. Then I prepared the BBQ sauce cold (no stove or oven work) and just poured it over the ribs. Cooked in the crock pot on low for 10 hours. They were incredible!

sdallenhou@aol.com

3/9/2009

These ribs are amazing. Being a true Texas boy, I love all things BBQ, all things pork, and all things spicy. With this recipe, though, you need to customize the amount of cayenne for your audience. I'm one to increase the amount of cayenne in any recipe, but in this one it was just right for me--which means that it would be too hot for some people. There is too much sugar in the recipe unless you are cooking at least 3 racks of ribs--I would reduce it by half if cooking 1 or 2 racks. Finally, there is no need to make the BBQ sauce. The ribs are so flavorful that any BBQ sauce will be in the background. I used a store brand sauce, and it was just fine. The recipe is definitely one to try. If you need more cayenne, then add it at the end. UPDATE: I finally decided to try the BBQ sauce in this recipe and wish I hadn't. Even a generic store brand of sauce would be better than this sauce. Don't waste your time on it. Oh, and it makes enough for about 10 racks of ribs.

cookin'mama

1/25/2004

These were great, even though we didn't throw them on the grill due to rain. In the rub I used kosher salt and cut the black pepper to 1 1/2 Tablespoons. I used 1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper in place of cayenne (LOVE the smoky flavor of chipotle peppers). I would probably up the chipotle peppers if not cooking for children. I used 1 1/4 tsp. ground chipotle pepper in the sauce. My spareribs were St. Louis cut, which are just regular ribs with the breastbone and the adjacent strip of gnarled meat removed. I think the ribs cook more evenly and are definitely easier to cut when done. Mine were moist and tender after about 3 hours and I fear they might have dried out after any longer. The best way I have found to test ribs for doneness is to pick up the center of the ribs with tongs. The ribs shoud flop down and a skewer inserted inserted between the ribs should meet little resistance (thank you chef Steve Johnson and Fine Cooking magazine). My husband and daughter liked these better than ribs I have slaved over over. This is an excellent, easy recipe!